Del Rio also visited Oregon State this week and will apparently visit Southern Miss this weekend. Remember, former Oklahoma State offensive coordinator Todd Monken was recently hired as the head coach at Southern Miss, and Del Rio has a close relationship with him.

Kozan, who will play in tomorrow’s Semper Fidelis All-American Bowl, has already taken visits to Iowa, Ohio State, Michigan and Auburn. He originally was considering announcing a college choice during the game’s broadcast, but he told rivals.com that he didn’t “really feel like I’m ready right now and if I’m not ready I’m not going to rush into anything.”

HIGHLANDS RANCH — Football, finally, is one week and a day away. Granted, Zero Week doesn’t bring us a full slate, but we will get a Valor Christian-Grandview tilt packed full of anticipation and talent.

The game was circled this offseason, then highlighted and underlined with the release of the preseason media poll on Monday. Running a finger down those rankings, you’ll find Grandview checking in at No. 3 in Class 5A, while Valor holds down the top spot in 4A.

The in-state schools continue to be shut out from the state’s top talent in the 2012 football recruiting cycle.

Windsor offensive tackle Joey O’Connor became the latest recruit to commit to an out-of-state program, picking Penn State on Tuesday night, according to Windsor Now.

O’Connor, the No. 4-rated prospect in our 2012 in-state recruiting rankings, picked the Nittany Lions among at least 11 scholarship offers. CU and CSU were both among those offers, but Penn State had long been considered a front runner in O’Connor’s recruitment. Read more…

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Neil Devlin, originally from the Philadelphia area, has covered high school sports in Colorado for more than 30 years, writing about the people, athletes and events that encompass the Rocky Mountain prep sports world.